Lily Potter: and the Empty Portrait
by Autumn Dancer
Summary: Lily Charlotte Potter has suddenly found herself engulfed into a world of adventure and mystery. It's a chess game in a magical and unknown world - where she might just be the pawn...
1. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry

**Lily Potter**

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A/N: Please read! I think this story might actually have potential. It's my first HP fanfic, but my second fanfic ever.

_If you want some more detail about this story, it's pretty much about a girl who is sent to Hogwarts but doesn't have much faith in herself and is convinced she doesn't possess any magic. It is set after Deathly Hallows, and has almost nothing to do with the old characters of the Harry Potter chronicles. Though, as you read it, you might notice some faint similarities between my characters and the original's. _

_Please review._

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Chapter One – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"Good work, kiddo. That's the best school, you know," Sebastian Ormiston praised. Lily thanked him for his complimentary statement and blushed slightly.

"Yeah, you did great. I didn't manage to get into it…" grumbled Jack Pasty. She patted him on the back soothingly.

"Just because Harry Potter is from my school doesn't make it all that! Besides, Victor Krum is from your school. He was once one of the best Quidditch players ever," she reminded him, but he just walked away. "I can't believe I was the only one to get into Hogwarts!" Lily then exclaimed to Sebastian.

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter. _I _got in, too, of course," sneered Vanessa Peters. Lily turned to look at her.

"I meant between my friendship group, Vanessa."

"Are you meaning to imply that I'm not a part of your friendship group?" she retorted. "That could be considered exclusion, you know."

"I'm sure you'll live," Lily mumbled. Vanessa smiled.

"You're right. What more could I ask for than to be adored by both the males and females here?" She turned on her heel and called upon her friends, Taylor and Isobelle. "Come on girls, I fear stupidity may be contagious if we stay any longer." The two scurried after their idol and left Seb and Lily again.

"Don't worry 'bout her, Lils, she's just upset that someone else got in, a part from Taylor and Isobelle, that is," Sebastian said. She nodded mutely and then made an excuse of being late for dinner at the orphanage.

"Say hi to your mum for me, Seb, won't you?" Jack nodded. She rushed from the park in a hurry.

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"You are _such _a grub, Potter!" shrieked Miss Meralayne.

"I'm sorry, miss. I was playin' in the park with Jack and Seb."

"You and your stupid boyfriends…"

"They're not my boyfriends!" Lily defensively argued. "They're just friends, that's all. None of the girls like me, so I don't have much of a choice." Miss Meralayne looked up at her and Lily could tell she felt sympathy for her misfortunes.

"Perhaps you should make more of an effort to be their friends. If you were just cleaner, too, that would help. Nobody wants to spend time with a little smelly girl, now do they?"

"No, miss, they don't." After some scrubs with a cloth on her cheek, and a licked thumb just for her face, she smiled and shooed Lily away.

"Try to keep that pretty little face clean next time, Lily," she called after Lily, but she didn't nod. Lily was actually hoping she wouldn't be able to notice her muddy hair seen as it was a chocolate sort of colour. Her mother used to say it was a pretty contrast to her unusual lime green eyes. She always used to reply that her eyes were probably the only non-plain thing about her.

At the table, Taylor, one of Vanessa's henchmen, was forced to sit next to Lily. "I heard you got into Hogwarts. I did, too," Lily said, as if she didn't already know.

"I'm not stupid. Everyone knows. We're the only ones in the whole orphanage that got in. Well, _I _am. Vanessa reckons McGonagall sent the letter to the wrong name." Lily didn't reply. She didn't even bother to argue that Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, would never make a mistake. Instead, she went to bed after washing the dishes and herself

Time seemed to fly. It seemed like just the next day she was on the train, after having a few difficulties with the concept of Platform 9 and 3 quarters, sitting by herself. It was a slow and boring train ride. Lily could only watch the water droplets gradually sink from the top of the window to the bottom, leaning against it to keep her forehead from overheating. Occasionally 

someone would come in, but they were quick to leave. It was like they sensed what Lily dreaded. She was just too… ordinary. It wasn't like an average witch to be noticeably unnoticeable.

When the train finally came to its destination, the first graders were called upon by a slender but abnormally tall man with a lantern. He had a bushy beard and wasn't particularly attractive, but seemed goodhearted from the manner he spoke and directed things. He told them that his name was Albert Rubeus Hagrid, but just to call him Hagrid. Lily thought it was a rather odd name, but didn't say anything. After all, she had nobody to say it to.

"Just this way, come on, come on," Hagrid persisted. He nudged some of the slower kids and soon enough they were at the castle, while Hagrid explained how the first years used to swim across the lake, trying to avoid leeches but usually failing. Lily hoped that the rest of the educational wizarding world wasn't as barbaric as he made it out to be. Although she'd gone to an orphanage for witches and wizards, they couldn't afford to go anywhere fancy and were forced to hide in the middle of London City.

The castle was spectacular. She'd never seen anything so marvellous. The walls looked newly painted, with portraits of all sorts of people all over them. She'd never realised just how many wizards there were in the world! As she gazed in awe at the school's beauty, she continued to make her way down the hall. That's when she noticed something that looked out of place. There was a picture with no one in it. The only thing apart from blackness was a tiny crack she noticed in the middle of it. "How peculiar…" she whispered to herself. Who would have thought that even a school like Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry would have broken pictures and things that weren't absolutely perfect in their halls?

Since she had no suitcase, only a casual sling-bag, she progressed straight into the main hall where some of the other first years were. They were nervously pacing or playing with their thumbs. There were four long tables in the room, all pack filled with what she assumed to be more students. At the front it looked like some sort of stage, where the professors seemed to be sitting patiently. Eventually, once all the first years had returned from putting their suitcases away, an elderly woman strolled to the stage. She had lips that could be mistaken for drawn on lines, her eyebrows weren't much different, and her face definitely had the sign of maturity, wisdom, and weary carved into it. Lily had the feeling she was the famous Professor McGonagall.

The woman confirmed Lily's theory, and explained that it was an old tradition of hers to assist in the Sorting Ceremony, which, as far as Lily knew, was simply the sorting of students into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw.

"When I call your name, first years, you will come, sit on this chair here," she indicated an isolated looking chair, "and then proceed to place the Sorting Hat onto your head. Once your House Group is named, you will sit at the necessary table." She did not ask if her commands were understood. Lily thought they were pretty clear anyway. "Adelle Aarons." A shy looking girl did as she was told and then was sent to Ravenclaw by the talking hat. "Miranda Adrianne." Miranda was placed in Gryffindor.

A while later, when everyone was bored of the Sorting and were talking amongst themselves, McGonagall finally came to Lily's name. "Lily Potter." Everyone paused and looked up. Even McGonagall curiously glanced to see Lily. Without looking around, Lily hurried to the stage and anxiously sat down on the chair before gently placing the hat on her head. It hummed for a bit, and she had the feeling it wanted to know which House Group she would prefer. She had no preferences and was left to sit there. Everyone was still looking at her, as if they were as curious as she was as to where she would be placed. Not only did she have the name of Potter, but she was _Lily _Potter, too. As if the fame wasn't enough for her, she just so happened to have a tiny scar on her forehead, but she hid it with her fringe.

"Slytherin!" the Hat piercingly roared. Nobody applauded her like they had with the others. The Slytherins seemed infuriated. A _Potter _in _Slytherin? _Lily knew her year wasn't going to be as grand as everyone else back at the orphanage had promised.

Lily got off the chair slowly, as if she'd suddenly gained fifty kilos that was tearing her down. It was difficult to get a seat in the Slytherin table, but eventually one of the ghosts forced a Slytherin to let her sit next to them. From that point on, she was neglected.

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A/N: please tell me if I got any small details incorrect or if I made errors. You are welcome to express your opinions on anything, including the plot or the characters, but I will warn you now I don't often change my storyline to suit my readers' individual wants unless I think theirs is better than what I actually had planned. : Please leave a review! Even a simple "good" or "interesting beginning" would be nice.

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: Lily meets loads of new people... not just students, either.**


	2. An Empty Portrait

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A/N: Not exactly a filler or action-packed chapter, but it's only the 2nd chapter. In most of my stories I try to make an interesting beginning full of questions, an action-packed middle, and a resolution that answers all questions that hadn't been answered in the middle.

_IN THIS CHAPTER: Lily meets a boy named James and a boy named Daniel. She has a small chat with Professor McGonagall, too._

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Chapter Two – An Empty Portrait

Lily walked through the crowded halls, unnoticed by Slytherins, and stared at by everyone else. That morning she pushed down her fringe so hard to hide her scar she probably made another one in the same spot. Pushing past other students, she made her way to where Herbology class was. The Slytherin Head Boy, David Sipes, had taken the first years on a tour around Hogwarts so that they, hopefully, wouldn't get too lost in its many confusing halls.

According to what she'd overhead in her room that morning, a man named Neville Longbottom took Herbology. It seemed everyone had some strange or abnormal feature about them but her. She was just too normal for her own good. When she arrived, she went to the very corner of a long table. There was a mix of Gryffindors and Slytherins on the table, as they took Herbology on Tuesdays and Thursdays together. Professor Longbottom introduced himself and then went straight on to explain the basics of Herbology. Lily wasn't really paying attention and when it came to doing what he'd just instructed, she hesitated, fearing she may do something terribly wrong. Hoping that she'd heard correctly, she gently poked the plant sitting in front of her. It squirmed. She wasn't sure whether to take that as a good sign or not. She poked it again, harder. It twitched violently. Impatiently, Lily poked it even harder. This time the plant seemed to make some sort of screeching noise, though she couldn't see where its mouth was. Curiously, she poked her head closer to see if she could find a mouth. Just then, as if the branches were arms, the plant grabbed the sides of her head and shoved her face into the soil. She kicked frantically and desperately tried to free herself, when finally the student beside her stroked the plants arms gently and it loosened its grip. Gasping for air, she looked over at her saviour. He was a pale boy with messy brown hair and glasses. "That's what we like to call a Face Plant," he explained, "usually you avoid getting your face near plants like these." He looked her over. "Are you muggle born then?"

"No. Well, my parents weren't muggles, but they died. I grew up with muggles and witches alike," she shyly replied. "In the city we don't really get many plants. It's very different to the wilderness over here."

"I can imagine. Whomping Willows, even baby ones, are usually only found in forested places like Hogwarts." He looked back at his workbook and continued with his work. She just sat there, a little afraid to touch the plant there. It looked so innocent, just sitting there like plants often do. "If you stroke its arms and spread moist soil around it, it will hug you," the boy then said to her. "Look." He acted it ouft and the plant did as he'd said. She giggled a little bit when it wrapped its arms softly around his neck.

"That's cute."

"Ten minutes ago it tried to kill you," he pointed out. Lily shrugged.

"It was my own fault. Anyway, I think it's a lot like a person. It takes a while to gain its trust, but when you do it is affectionate and compassionate." The boy looked at her again and laughed.

"What are you, a philosopher?" Lily didn't answer. "My names Daniel Morgan, by the way." He held out his hand. She shook it awkwardly and smiled timidly.

"Lily Potter." Daniel raised his eyebrows but said nothing about it.

Instead, he whispered into her ear, "Perhaps next time it would be more beneficial if you actually listened in class." Lily blushed and nodded.

"Stop bein' such a flirt, Dan," said another boy who was sitting beside Daniel. "You know they can't resist my freckles." Lily had the urge to giggle and make a sarcastic remark, but stopped herself.

"Shut up, James." Daniel nudged the other boy jokingly. "Nobody likes you."

"You're just jealous," he retorted. "You like me, don't you?" He glanced at Lily. Lily looked at Daniel, unsure of what to reply. She bit her lip nervously.

"Don't upset her, she's shy," said Daniel. Lily flushed and lowered her eyes to her workbook again. "Now look what you've done…" Daniel mumbled.

"You hypocrite!" scoffed the boy named James. "You're the one who brought it up. I was just playin'." There was silence, and Lily thought the two boys might stop talking to her and leave her to her work. Unfortunately, the boys continued their conversation, and eventually Lily was forced to join in. They weren't too bad, though, and she discovered it was nice to have friends again. Although, she was hoping she'd gotten over her 'boy – friends' phase.

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That night, Lily had an awful dream.

It started off with her mother and father together alone in a room. Across the hall she noticed a little girl playing with a ball. It must have been her. Her mother was upset about something, and her father was soothing her.

"I just… I just wish I had children of my own," her mother sobbed. Lily was confused, considering that her child self was sitting just down the halls.

"One day, honey. But not today. We have Lily to be worrying about."

"Yes, of course, it's always about Lily, isn't it? Haven't you ever thought about what _I_ want?"

"I do, all the time. But Lily is our _daughter_ and we need to be worrying about her." Lily had never realised her parents fought. They had died when she was six, but she never recalled any arguments between them. Why had her father said she was their daughter but her mother implied that she was not? It was so puzzling.

And then she woke up. The moon was still up, and everyone was asleep. The girl above her in the bunk bed, Ava Yesmin, was snoring and moving around a lot. Lily stood up and went to the bathroom where she washed her face down and properly woke up. It was just a dream… just a dream.

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A few weeks had passed. The girls in her dormitory hated and picked on Lily, and the boys completely ignored her. They didn't even bother bullying her.

She'd so far failed every single class. She just wasn't good at anything. It wasn't that she didn't listen, or that she was stupid; she simply didn't 'get' it.

Dan Morgan and his mate James Elliot were kind to her, and she slowly began to open up. They became fast friends, except she realised that they were in Gryffindor and she was in Slytherin. Why had the Sorting Hat put her in Slytherin when he knew she would be rejected? Surely there must be some sort of reason!

Vanessa Peters, whom was placed in Ravenclaw, certainly gave her trouble. She constantly pestered her and in Chemistry class Lily was forced to share a cauldron with her. She was grateful that Vanessa was in Ravenclaw and the only time she saw her was either during mealtimes or in Chemistry class on Mondays.

On Thursday afternoon, between Herbology and Chemistry, Lily managed to have a chat with James and Dan. "Did you hear about Professor Trelawney?" James asked her excitedly.

"Who is that?" Lily replied.

"She teaches Divination, which we don't start for a few years." Dan explained. "Her family have been teaching it for ages."

"Apparently she's loopy and is a fake," James said, "and today she had a fit in class. They were predicting the future and she suddenly came to a crystal ball and began screaming." Lily nodded, still not seeing why this was such grand news. "Then, she picked the crystal ball up and threw it at some random girl." Lily gasped.

"Who? Is she alright?"

"It was Jasmine Stone from Hufflepuff. She's in the hospital wing with a broken arm."

"How horrible!" exclaimed Lily, "what are they doing about Professor Trelawney?"

"McGonagall refuses to release any information," James replied, "but I reckon the parents are gonna get the old bat sacked."

"That's ridiculous," Dan commented. "If she was overcome with a trance, then it's hardly her fault, is it? Anyway, she's in the hospital wing, too, you know James. Word is that she's fallen ill."

"I never did think she was right in the head," James said reasonably.

"Not mentally ill, stupid. Just sick." Lily laughed, amused by the boys' conversation. The two were constantly arguing about stupid things.

"I had better get to class," Lily said, glancing at the time. "I've got Chemistry."

"I love Chemistry," Dan said, "it's my favourite subject."

"Didn't you say that about Defence Against the Dark Arts yesterday even though you hate Professor Lupin?" James asked. Dan shrugged. "Is there any subject that _isn't _your favourite, Dan?"

"At least I'm good at them!" he defensively replied. "I can't wait for the Quidditch season, do you think I'll get in?"

"No first year has got in since Lily Potter, they say," Lily said. Dan smiled. "The daughter of Harry Potter, of course she was good at flying. She was brilliant."

"Maybe it's a Lily Potter thing," suggested James jokingly.

"Yeah right," Lily scoffed, "I'll never be as good as she was. I've failed every single subject _and _I'm a Slytherin. I couldn't be worse off!"

"Slytherin isn't so bad! Sure, it's produced some pretty bad people, but just because you're in Slytherin doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad flyer, and it definitely doesn't mean you're evil or something." Dan said. Lily didn't believe him.

"If you're so concerned, maybe you should go talk to McGonagall about moving House," James said. "You could move to Gryffindor."

"Do you think she'd let me?" Lily hopefully asked. James shrugged, but Dan looked doubtful.

"I've never heard of anyone moving Houses before… it does seem highly unlikely," he said, trying not to crush her spirits so bad.

"It is also highly unlikely that you'll make the Quidditch team, but you're still trying."

"True, but first years have made the Quidditch team before, I wouldn't be the first."

James patted Lily on the head encouragingly. "Well, there's a first to everything, isn't that right, Lily?"

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October came about rather quickly. Lily had been in Hogwarts for a whole month and she still hadn't managed to successfully do anything magical. There was no doubt about it: she was a squib. All the kids were saying it, and Lily knew all the teachers were thinking it. But she couldn't blame them. It _was_ true.

Lily couldn't help but muse over the dream with her parents. She'd never had one before, and she never got another one. It was so odd. As she strolled down the halls, humming slightly, early one Tuesday morning, she closed her eyes and recalled the last day she spent with her parents. It was snowing, and her mother was very happy. She looked so beautiful when she smiled. Her father was working, like he always did, in his office in the house. Lily 

was making snow angels, but she wasn't very good at them. She couldn't help but put footprints on top of the angel when she stood up. It never worked.

Lily opened her eyes again and stopped the memory. It was too sad to think about such things.

"'Ello there, girly," said a portrait of _Michelle Jordans, Nominated Seven Times for Sorcerer of the Year. _"What are you doing wandering the halls at this hour?"

"Oh, you know, just thinkin' about stuff. I've got exam today, so I'm trying to get in a lot of study," she replied. Michelle and her were good friends and he constantly had conversations with her in the morning when she would wander the hallways by herself. Lily kept on walking.

She suddenly had another memory. It was her first day at school, walking down that very hall. Then she recalled the irregular black picture with a tiny crack in the middle. Lily strolled further down the desolate hallway and came to that very picture. She examined it thoroughly. It was still black with a crack, but it seemed the crack had become bigger, which cracks often did. Curiously, she stuck her wand through the crack. Nothing happened. Disappointed, Lily pulled her wand back out. But it didn't come as easily as she'd hoped. Instead, she had to tug harder. When it did come out, it was completely covered in some goo-like substance. "Gross," she whispered to herself, rubbing some of the goo-like substance onto her robes. "Looks like bogeys!"

Lily, after shoving her contaminated wand back into her pocket, bent down to see the label underneath the empty portrait.

_In the darkest of times, look for a shining light. Look as hard as you can. –Albus Dumbledore_

Lily looked back at the picture. OK, so that's why it was just black, but wasn't there supposed to be some sort of speck of light so that it matched the quote from Dumbledore? It didn't make sense.

"I'm afraid you won't find much inspiration from that particular picture," said a voice from behind her. Lily jumped, startled, and then recovered herself. Professor McGonagall did not notice. She strolled towards the picture, sadness evident in her old eyes. "Professor Dumbledore made that himself. He was never quite the artist he wished to be." She laughed croakily.

"I don't understand it," Lily said.

"Not many do," McGonagall replied, "I suppose that's why they call it abstract."

"The quote says to look for a shining light, but there isn't a shining light. It's just blackness."

"Perhaps he intended for the light to be difficult to find. Or perhaps he means to simply look beyond the blackness…" She trailed off. "I guess we'll never know." The two stayed in silence for a while.

"Tell me, why are you up so early?" McGonagall asked her.

"Thought I might get in some extra study work in," Lily shrugged. "But I got distracted."

"It's easy to get distracted from important things in life if your mind isn't focused." McGonagall looked down at Lily with a knowing expression. Lily looked to the floor nervously. "Surely you didn't get up so early just because you wanted to study?" She phrased it like a question, not a statement.

"I had a bad dream, that's all," Lily stated. McGonagall nodded, but Lily knew she detected that there was more to the story. "And, I was wondering, is it possible for a student to move House? Has it ever happened before?" McGonagall thought about this.

"I've been Headmaster for a very long time, and have been teaching here for even longer," McGonagall said, "in all my time I've never heard of such a thing. Why do you ask, Potter?"

"Merely curious," she hastily said. McGonagall nodded.

"Curiosity killed the cat," McGonagall said. Lily smiled.

"Satisfaction brought it back."

_A/N: please review and inform me of any errors of any kind. Thank you to anyone who reviewed last chapter; I will be internally grateful (dramatic much?) Hopefully you found this chapter enjoyable and interesting, even though I think it's a bit short and boring._

_IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: Innocent curiosity goes wrong in the halls of Hogwarts._


	3. Curiosity Killed the Cat

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A/N: OK, I need help here guys. Out of the following pictures –

_www. piczo. com /LilyCharlottePotter  
__...delete all spacing spacing_

_Which do you think would make a better Lily Potter for this story? I don't mean clothes or make up, just their general look. I need to know, because I want to give a good description of what she actually looks like in the next chapter or two... If you have any suggestions for what you imagined her to look like, do tell. I'm fully open to anyone's opinion. _

_IN THIS CHAPTER: Lily admits her fears & worries to McGonagall, and James and Dan make a wonderful discovery._

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****Chapter Three – Curiosity Killed the Cat**

It had been three weeks of wake up, school, dinner, study, bed. Yet, despite Lily's hard work, dedication, and relentless practice, she was failing every prac. subject there was. Life couldn't be worse.  
"Don't be upset, Lily," Dan soothed her; "you're passing all theory subjects, at least. It's not like they'll expel you or something." She'd just gotten results back from Transfiguration.  
James came running up to them, sheet of paper flapping around in his hand. "Guess what?" he excitedly squeaked to them.  
"Did you pass Transfiguration?" Dan asked.  
"Yeah, with flying colours, too!" he exclaimed.  
"That's impossible," Dan said seriously.  
"Just because _you _didn't do so well doesn't mean it's _impossible_, Dan," James snapped.  
"No, I mean, it's actually impossible. After the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes became a big hit again a few years back, they banned Flying Colours. Some poor student went blind from them."  
"That's awful," Lily cried. "No wonder they banned Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products! They're outright dangerous."  
"Nah, only if you're stupid with them," James said. "I love their Ton-Tongue Toffees. They're delicious! Here, want one?" He pulled some brightly coloured lollies from his back pocket and offered them to Lily and Dan. Both of them shook their head.  
"I need this tongue to be reasonably sized for my classes, thank you very much."

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Lily hummed quietly to herself. She was already three chapters in front of the class in Defence against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin turned to her and snapped, "Miss Potter, please pay attention in class, I don't want to have to tell you again." She nodded and apologised.  
He went on talking. "Those are the topics we'll be learning this year. If you wish to ask me about any other topics in the Dark Arts, I will be happy to educate you briefly." A few hands shot into the air. Lily stopped listening after the third boy asked if Lupin could briefly educate them on the history of the Dark Arts. He obviously spoke of the legendary Lord Voldemort, whose name still made some shudder, and, of course, Harry Potter. Lily was not listening at all. When he said 'Potter' Lily instantly sat up straight and piped up, "Yes, Professor?" He turned to her, confused. The class burst out laughing.  
"Miss Potter," Some students giggled, "this is the third time you've not been listening in class. Detention after school. Hopefully you'll catch up with the rest of the class in the hour's time we have together this afternoon." Lily nodded sluggishly.  
"I'm sorry Professor," she mumbled before opening her book up, manually, and flicking to find the page that they were on before he'd 'briefly educated' the class on Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.  
Lily came back to that classroom an hour before dinner with her books and quills. "Ah, Miss Potter, you're here," Professor Lupin said brightly as she walked in. "Now, seen as you found it difficult to stay awake during the course of all your classes, I'm afraid you're going to have to get a lot of work done in this hour. You had better start with Transfiguration. Page 463." He pulled out his wand and flicked the page for her. She mumbled a thank you. "You might have a bit of trouble with the wand movement, many students didn't understand it at first, either." Lily nodded and pulled out her wand. She practiced the movement like it said in the book. It wasn't too difficult. _Swish and flick.  
_"How do you pronounce the words?" she asked.  
"_Wingardium Leviosa,_" he said slowly. She turned to her book, bracing herself for disappointment.  
"_Wingardium Leviosa_," she whispered nervously as she did the action. Nothing happened.  
"Don't be shy, say it loud and clear," Lupin encouraged. She rolled her eyes, he didn't understand. It didn't have anything to do with her volume, but rather her lack of any magical talent. She tried again. Nothing happened. "Try pronouncing it _Wingardium Levi-oh-sar," _he suggested, though he seemed a tad confused himself. Lily did as he said, but was still unsuccessful. After a million more tries, Lupin finally told her to stop and try something else.  
Lily turned to him. "Professor." She spoke in so soft a voice he didn't hear her. "Professor Lupin." He looked up at her.  
"Yes, Miss Potter?"  
"I was just wondering," she began, "Is it possible for Muggles to be accepted into Hogwarts, even though Professor McGonagall specifically chose the students who attend here?" Lupin thought about this.  
"It does seem highly unlikely," he murmured, "but everyone makes mistakes, even Headmistress of Hogwarts." Lily could see he wasn't convinced it was possible. "Why do you ask, Lily?"  
"So it is _possible_, even if highly unlikely, that I could be squib?" Lupin laughed.  
"Is this why you are wondering?" he asked, as if it was an outrageous thought. Lily didn't think it was. She saw this as an extremely serious personal issue. Noticing that she didn't see the humour in the topic, he ceased his laughing at once and looked sternly at her. "Lily, you will grow up to be a wonderful witch one day, and then you'll look back to this afternoon and laugh at how ludicrous the thought of you being a 'squib' was."  
"How can you be so sure?" she demanded. "In the weeks that I've been here I haven't successfully performed any sort of magic. All the other kids can do _Wingardium Leviosa _perfectly, while I can't even make something _twitch! _It's horrible. I don't know why I'm here, because it's obvious that I am _not _a witch and never will be. How can _you _be so sure that McGonagall didn't make a mistake and accidently address a letter to the wrong Lily Potter?" Lupin was taken aback by her sudden distress, but quickly recovered himself.  
"Well, I suppose I can't be sure," he said reasonably, "but, like you said, ProfessorMcGonagall specifically chose the students who attend this school. It's not like Lily Potter is a particularly common name, too," he added. She wasn't convinced fully, though. "Look, if you're so concerned, Miss Potter, maybe you should go talk to her yourself. I'm sure she'll be happy to say that she chose you because you do have magical talent and you're simply a slow learner." Lupin glanced at his watch. "You have fifteen minutes before supper. Go now, the password is _Phoenix Tears_." Lily was surprised that he was letting her out early just to talk to McGonagall about being a squib, but she didn't have to be told twice. She hastily packed up her books and hurried down the halls, barely noticing when _Michelle Jordans'_ portrait said hello to her. She knew wasn't too sure where McGonagall's office was, but a few kids in Hufflepuff helped her out.  
After saying the password to an old and worn looking gargoyle, she was taken up to a large room full of books and, though she thought impossible, even more portraits of important people. Except these weren't just any important people, but they were former Headmasters and Headmistresses of the school. When Lily saw that McGonagall was obviously out, probably at dinner, she instead looked at the portraits, trying to find one man in particular. She found _Albus Dumbledore _quickly and looked him up and down. His beard was startlingly silver and his eyes a piercing blue. His face showed age and wisdom, while his smile seemed genuine. "Miss Lily Charlotte Potter," he greeted, "I've been expecting you."  
"You have?"  
"Of course I have. Professor McGonagall has been very concerned about you recently, so I assumed it was only a matter of time before I found you in her office." Lily nervously looked around the room. It was the biggest office she'd ever seen.  
"Actually, Professor McGonagall isn't expecting me. I just wanted to talk to her about some stuff in school," Lily said.  
"Well, I'm sorry to inform you, but the Headmistress is temporarily busy. What is this 'stuff' you wish to speak to her about?" His voice was so kind and gentle, Lily had the feeling he would understand.  
"I'm failing ever practical exam in school," she said flatly, "and I've never performed one bit of magic in my life."  
"Tell me, Lily, have you ever ridden a broom before or participated in a Quidditch match?" Lily nodded her head, but didn't understand what that had to do with her lack of magical ability. "Why do you think that only witches and wizards ride brooms, not Muggles?" Lily thought about this.  
"I don't know. Why?"  
"Because you need to have magic to ride a broom. How do you think it lifts into the air?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. Lily knew he was right. Even though she felt incredibly stupid, she couldn't help but let a grin spread across her face.  
"So I'm not a squib?" she excitedly exclaimed, "Just because I can ride a broom, I'm not a squib?"  
"You are, in fact, a witch, and you always have been."  
"How come I can ride a broom but not perform spells, then?"  
"When you were younger, first learning to ride a broom, you did not have the worry of being a squib. You were too young to understand that some children can be born without magic even if both their parents were magical. You had total confidence and faith, unlike now. Lily, you are so convinced that you don't have magic, that you've actually started believing it."

* * *

"Faith in yourself?" James laughed as they walked down the hall to breakfast. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. As if something like _faith _could have anything to do with your magical ability."  
"You'd be interested to know, James, that it does in fact have a lot to do with faith. You see, this book here –" Dan searched through the pile of books he had stuffed into his bag until he found one titled _Becoming a Muggle_. "– is the story of a man who was born a wizard but didn't want to be one. Although it was difficult, in the end he managed to make himself believe that he possessed no magic. After that, his body believed it too, and, apart from the occasional incident in which his emotions unleashed small powers, he became fully Muggle."  
James continued to argue, but Lily didn't say anything. Even if James never believed that what Dumbledore had said was true, she did. Lily waved goodbye to James and Dan when they entered the Great Hall and went over to the Slytherin table, where she sat next to Ava, the girl from her dormitory. Everyone was reading letters from their parents, congratulating them on spending a whole two months at Hogwarts and some kids received costumes for Halloween. Lily sometimes wished that her friends from back in London City, like Sebastian and Jack, would write to her, but they were such typical boys.  
Some kid next to her finally plucked up the courage to say something to Lily. "Are you _really _related to Harry Potter?" he asked, wide-eyed. Lily turned to him.  
"No, I am not, it's just a name. I am so _sick _of people asking me that!" she replied. The boy, who Lily realised sat next to her in Potions, seemed disappointed.  
"But how can you be so sure?" he asked her.  
"I just am."  
"Do you know your family tree?"  
"No, my parents are dead. I never found out."  
"Then how can you know who you're related to?" Lily thought about this. He was right. She couldn't know. But that didn't mean she was related to him, it just meant that there was the tiniest little chance that she was. After breakfast Lily said this to Dan and James, who agreed. "It's a shame Harry's dead then, isn't it?" James said.  
"What do you mean?" Lily replied.  
"Well, you could ask him. You know, find out for yourself."  
"_Or _you could find it in the library, I'm sure some authors thought it would be cool to follow the lives of Harry Potter's children. Even still, if there isn't a book in the library which says so, which is unlikely; but, even still, you could always find out the address of one of his children or grandchildren," Dan pointed out. Lily shrugged.  
"I don't care, I know I'm not," Lily said, "that's just ridiculous."  
"I don't think it is," James said, "Not many parents would have the guts to call their children Lily if the last name was Potter unless they were actually related to Lily Potter herself."  
"Yeah, it would seem a bit pretentious," Dan added. Lily shrugged.  
"It doesn't matter anyway because Harry Potter isn't alive and, well, it just doesn't matter," Lily concluded.



* * *

"Lily, Lily!" Dan cried as he ran up to her, waving what seemed to be _The Daily Prophet. _"You won't believe it! Look here, this paragraph…" He indicated the second paragraph of a story headlined '_The Boy Who Lived, Lives!'  
_"What does it mean, he lives?" Lily asked curiously.  
"Just read it, Lily," James said from behind Dan. Lily looked back down. Ava, who sat beside her without her edition of _The Daily Prophet_, looked over curiously, as did a few others that hadn't read it yet.  
"'_Harry Potter, commonly known as The Boy Who Lived, has now reached the age of one hundred. This would seem an incredible milestone for any average witch or wizard, but, according to the man himself, he's had 'quite enough incredible milestones for a lifetime' and doesn't see this as such a big deal. When asked to comment on this, the Minister of Magic, Jonathon Abdul, stated the following, 'Compared to the amount of fame Mr Potter has had right from the day in which his parents were sadly murdered by a very evil wizard, to the triumphant battle against that very same undefeated wizard at age seventeen; reaching one hundred must be pretty dull and boring.' Not only does Mr Potter find it dull and boring, but he also commented that he preferred it when the media all thought he had died from old age, which is what he had intended everyone to believe." _Lily looked up at James and Dan. "Wow, that's really old. My parents died at around thirty…" Next to the report of Harry Potter, was a picture of him with a boy and girl. The girl had extremely bushy hair and seemed very pretty, while the boy was tall and lanky with freckles. The tall boy had his arm around the girl's waist, while Harry had a broomstick in his hand.  
"The point isn't how old he is!" Dan exclaimed impatiently, "The point is that he's alive. You can go talk to him now."  
"Why would you want to talk to him?" Ava stated stupidly.  
"I don't, they do," Lily said. "I don't care if Harry Potter is alive or not, I'm not going to go see him."  
"Is he your great grandfather or something?" Ava said excitedly. She'd never spoken to Lily before, but Lily realised that she wasn't as bad as she'd originally thought.  
"No, we simply share the same last name. That's _it_," she directed her statement mostly to James and Dan. But they weren't discouraged, and for the rest of the day they pestered her to go visit him during Halloween. Lily finally gave in, and they agreed to go to his home and pretend to be 'Trick-or-Treet'ing.  
Halloween came very quickly. James, Lily and Dan all decided to get each other presents, even Lily didn't have much money at all. James bought Lily a cat, which the three of them together named Cleo; and Dan gave her a few books, mostly things like _The Life and Times of Harry Potter _but also books on performing magic as she was still unable to achieve anything but flying on a broomstick. In return, Lily gave Dan a book called _Advanced Potions_ and James a few different toys and lollies from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It wasn't much, but it was all she could afford. The two acted very grateful, even though she knew what they gave her was by far more valuable than what she gave them.  
Finding Harry's address wasn't too hard, considering he was all over the news. He lived in a deserted old place, though it seemed well kept after. It wasn't too big, but an average size. The garden was full of gnomes, some of them a bit ill tempered. Lily had brought Cleo along, but regretted it once she started attacking the gnomes. Although she was a middle aged and sized cat, her black fur prevented Lily from finding her once she escaped from her reach.  
Dan knocked on the door, anxiously. It took a bit for someone to reply, but when the door opened they did not see Harry Potter staring down at them. Instead, they saw an old man, not quite as old as Harry, but pretty old. Dan pushed Lily in front of him. "Hello," she nervously said.  
"Sorry, we don't have any lollies," the man said kindly, "not many kids visit us very often, after all."  
"Oh, we aren't here for lollies," Dan piped in bravely. James stayed quietly in the corner.  
"We were wondering if we could speak to Mr Harry Potter, is he home?" Lily asked. The man rolled his eyes.  
"More visitors?" he groaned. He looked the kids over. "Normally the _Prophet _don't send over people so young… Dispicable."  
"We're not here for any newspaper or anything," Dan said. "We just want to talk. We have got a few questions to ask him."  
"Who are you, then?" he asked the three.  
"I'm Lily Potter, and these are my friends Dan and James," Lily said quietly. The old man didn't seem to listen; instead he looked into the house and said something about kids at the door wanting to come in.  
From inside the house came an old, weary voice. "Let the kids in, Albus." The old man opened the door reluctantly and James, Lily and Dan scurried in hastily.  
"Dad, you know the doctor said you should be resting, not talking," the man said to an even older man sitting in a wheelchair. He had on a pair of glasses, which seemed extraordinarily old. Lily wondered if they were the same age as Harry Potter himself.  
"Are you Mr Harry Potter?" Lily asked the man in the wheelchair. His eyes were a bright green, and his jet black hair looked dishevelled and ill groomed.  
"Indeed," he replied happily, "how may I help you?"  
"My name is Lily Potter," Lily began. She reached into her bag and pulled out _The Daily Prophet _edition with the story about Harry Potter. "I saw this story in the newspaper, and I was wondering if I could talk to you about my family."  
"Lily Potter?" the old man, whose name Lily believed to be Albus, said curiously. "Did you say you're Lily Potter?"  
"Yes, that's my name. I'm from London City," she said.  
"She's an orphan," added James uncertainly.  
"Is that so?" Albus said. He sat down on the couch and indicated for the kids to follow his lead.  
"And I, well my friends and I, were wondering if you could help us discover who some of my relatives are. Which is why we're here. We decided we would begin with the most likely links to my family," Lily said, surprising even herself with her own confidence. "But if it's too inconvenient for you, then we're happy to leave," she hastily added. Dan nudged her, but she knew it was the right thing to do.  
"I'll put it flatly, kids," said Albus, "you're not related to us. We are quite sure of that."  
"Don't be so rude, Albus, Ginny taught you better," Harry said to Albus. Then he turned to Lily. "But, I'm afraid to say, he's quite right. What were your parents names?"  
"Anne and Paul."  
"My only grandchildren and grandchildren-in-law are named Charlotte, Scott, Thomas, Charles, Raven and Scarlett. No Annes or Pauls," Harry replied.  
"Did you say Charlotte?" Dan asked. Harry turned to him.  
"I did, yes."  
"Lily, isn't your middle name Charlotte?"  
"Yes, but –" Lily was interrupted by Albus.  
"It is merely coincidence!" he said, suddenly agitated. "You are _not _related to me, or my father, or my children, or my nieces, or my nephews!"  
"Now, now, Albus," Harry murmured, seeming sleepy and weary, "don't get upset. They are young, innocent and clearly ignorant." Dan, Lily and James were rather startled and confused by Albus's outburst.  
"If we are being nuisances, we can go, maybe come back another time," Dan suggested hopefully, but Albus didn't seem to like that idea, either. "Or, just go…"  
"That would be best," said Albus bitterly. The three stood up and took their leave without another word.  
"There, see where curiosity got us now?" Lily demanded to James and Dan when they reached the footpath outside Harry's house. "We still don't know if I'm related to Harry Potter, and my cat is now missing."  
"Cleo-o," called James, "pussy, pussy. Cleo-oo…"  
"Let's try the garden," Dan said. They came to the fence and called for the cat again, but still nothing happened. "Look, it's far too dark to see her anyway. We should come back tomorrow."  
"No, I must find Cleo," Lily claimed. "Then we can go. It only seven o'clock, the night is still young."  
"Come on, Professor Lupin said we had to be back by eight!" James whined.  
"Cleo… here pussy, pussy, pussy…" Lily whispered into the night air.  
"Lily! Lily! Over here!" Dan exclaimed frantically, running further down the footpath. Lily ran over to him and saw her, Cleo, lying on the ground in a pool of some sort of goo substance mixed in with blood.

* * *

_A/N: Another chapter finished… god I love writing this story. Please tell me what you thought, and I'm sorry to all you cat lovers, but you really should have guessed from the title. Next chapter is a bit more action-packed, yet more mysteries to come, the answers still unsolved. I'm trying to find pictures of what I imagine Dan or James to look like but am so far unsuccessful. And, lastly, please visit my Piczo site because I seriously need opinions. I am adding more pictures tomorrow or late tonight. The fourth chapter should be up soon; if you're lucky._

_IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: Lily, James and Dan are in big trouble as they try to solve the mystery of the Empty Portrait._


	4. Unsuccessful

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG!! (really, I am!)**

**My STUPID FRIKING computer decided to delete all my documents & then (I think I have a virus) it wouldn't let me sign into my fanfic account! Because of the delay in chapters, I'm uploading two chapters simultaneously (well, almost, the next chapter should be up by tomorrow, even though i have EXAMS!! :-(). I hope this means I am forgiven anyway :S**

**IN THIS CHAPTER: Lily notices a pattern, and McGonagall is not happy. (Title is slightly deceiving, as they are on the road to success, they just need a bit of a kick off.) Really short.**

* * *

**Chapter Four – Unsuccessful**

"Eww, it looks like bogeys!" exclaimed James. Bogeys? Lily thought; how peculiar._ In the darkest of times, look for a shining light. Look as hard as you can._

"It's a message," Lily thought aloud. Dan and James turned to look at her, puzzled. "Trying to tell us something."

"Curiosity killed the cat?" Dan suggested. This awakened another memory. _"Curiosity killed the cat," McGonagall had said._

"Bogeys and the quote," Lily thought aloud again, "all link to the Empty Portrait." Lily had decided that was to be its title when she could not think of another more suitable.

"What are you talking about, Lily?" James asked.

"There was a picture I found, when I poked my wand into it, bogeys oozed out. Then McGonagall said that same quote about curiosity."

"So?" James demanded. Dan was beginning to understand.

"That's exactly what happened here. I said the quote, and the cat got the bogeys," Dan explained to James.

"Which means…" Lily trailed off.

"Bogeys here, bogeys there. Some sort of link, like you said," Dan said.

"It's just a coincidence!" James said. "Shouldn't we be worrying about Cleo? Remember, your dying cat?"

"I don't believe in coincidences," Lily said.

"But you said so yourself that it was just a coincidence that your last name was Potter," James told her. Lily didn't reply.

"Bogeys here, bogeys there…" mumbled Lily. "Harry Potter here… no Harry there." James was beginning to be a bit impatient. Lily and Dan were focusing too much to care, though.

"Of course!" Dan suddenly cried, "There's obviously no Harry there, but there is a Potter."

"Bogeys here, bogeys there," Lily said, "Potter here, Potter there!"

"Except Potter isn't there, both Potters are here," James pointed out. Lily and Dan thought again.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be here," Dan said. "Maybe it's saying that you should be back at school, now."

"Or maybe it's a warning not to come back," Lily said.

"_Or_, maybe, it's just a coincidence," James said. Lily and Dan ignored him.

"Let's get to the castle," Dan decided, "You and James go to the Empty Portrait and I'll go to the library. I've got some research to do." Lily nodded, and, James being forced to carry the gooey cat, the three ran down the road and towards Hogwarts.

James placed Cleo, whom he and Lily realised wasn't actually dead, gently on the floor while Lily peered into the Empty Portrait's crack. "It's too dark, I can't see anything," she moaned. "If only Dan were here, he knows all the light-making spells there is."

"Yeah," James agreed. "He'll be here soon, though."

"_In the darkest of times, look for a shining light. Look as hard as you can." _Lily whispered to herself. "What could that mean?"

"I think the meaning is pretty rhetorical," James replied. "It's just means to think positively about negative things."

"No, I think there is a deeper meaning. Something to do with the Empty Portrait, most likely."

"Don't stress over it, Lily," James said, "Dumbledore was crazy, remember? Nobody ever understood a word he spoke. Complete bonkers, yet bizarrely brilliant. Funny how that works out, 'ey?" He began rubbing his bogey-covered sleeves onto his robes unsuccessfully. "Man this stuff is sticky," he complained.

Lily poked her wand into the crack again. She tried moving it around, but the goo was too dense. James came running up then, with a stack load of books. "You have no idea what trouble I went through to get these books," he told them. "I've got _Modern Art from Albus Dumbledore, Dumbledore Tells All, Entering the Bizarre Art of Dumbledore_, and _A Guide to Hogwarts' Art_. How about you guys; find anything interesting?" Lily thanked him for his hard work and replied that she had not found anything new. Leaving her wand to poke out of the Empty Portrait oddly, she looked firstly at _Entering the Bizarre World of Dumbledore_, hoping that it meant literally entering. Rummaging through the hundreds of pages, she searched desperately for a picture of the Empty Portrait. "Oh my god, Lily, look!" James abruptly yelled. Lily looked up and saw her wand, literally being sucked into the wall. It was moving gradually, like the goo was swallowing it bit by bit. James took hold of the end, but the force was far too strong compared to his pathetic pulls. The wand was completely swallowed in no time and the three were just left there to look at the innocent looking crack.

* * *

"Great, I don't have a wand," Lily muttered. "Now I'll definitely fail all my subjects."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Dan said with false optimism, "we'll get it back soon. Firstly, we have other matters to be worrying about. I got some books about mysterious oozes that leave animals unconscious or dead. Here, James, take _One Thousand Poisons to Kill Pests_, and I'll take _Curing Mysterious Venom_." James did as he was told, for what seemed like the first time in ages to Lily and Dan. Sitting in the hall silently, Dan, Lily and James read and read but found nothing useful.

"Nothing in _Entering the Bizarre World_ or _Modern Art_. I'll try _A Guide to Hogwarts' Art_," Lily said. James was still on _One Thousand Poisons to Kill Pests_, while Dan was reading something called _Unidentified Goo_. It wasn't long until the clock struck eight. Dan, James and Lily hadn't stirred from their positions, and their bodies were beginning to cramp. Cleo was moving more and more, while the goo crept off her and onto the floor.

It all happened at once. The kids came running in, dressed as all sorts of crazy things for Halloween. The teachers followed them close behind. They all came to Lily, James and Dan, who were spread across the floor with a twitching cat covered in ooze next to them. Everyone stopped. Everything stopped. In a matter of minutes, they were waiting in McGonagall's office, their books piled in the corner, a phoenix staring at them accusingly. Cleo had been sent to the hospital wing in hope of full recovery.

"_One Thousand Poisons to Kill Pets? A Guide to Howarts' Art? Entering the Bizarre World of Dumbledore? _A dying cat sitting next to you? What do you three think you were doing?" McGonagall shrieked.

"We were trying to find a cure for it, it wasn't our fault," Dan hurriedly answered.

"With books about Dumbledore's art?" McGonagall suspiciously questioned. Lily looked down at the floor.

"Lily loves his work," James replied. McGonagall raised her eyebrows, her lips even thinner than usual, hands on her hips.

"So you're trying to tell me that, while a cat was dying next to you and your friends were trying to find a cure for it, you were sitting on the floor reading about art?" she snapped at Lily.

"Yes, ma'am," she whispered. Lily knew that McGonagall wouldn't understand about the Empty Portrait or about meeting Harry Potter. There was no point in explaining. All she could do was face the consequences.

"Tell me, how do you think you three looked, sitting read books about poison and killing animals, while a cat is dying beside you? We have visitors in this school, but what do you care? Are you satisfied, Elliot, Morgan?" she hissed, rounding on the boys this time. Then she turned to Lily. "And you, Your Highness Potter, just because you share that name does _not _mean that you are in any way more important than everyone else! The world does not revolve around you. If you think you can go waltzing around these halls doing whatever you want, you've got another thing coming." Lily stared at the floor, tears welling in her eyes.

"It wasn't like that!" roared James, pointing a finger at McGonagall. "You've got it all wrong. Lily is innocent!" He did not elaborate as to why Lily was apparently innocent, which McGonagall thought as enough evidence that he was lying.

"She's innocent? So I suppose you put her under the Imperius Curse and controlled her? She has no responsibility for her actions, then?" demanded McGonagall. This time Dan cut in.

"It was just us, James and I. We tricked her into it. We told her the cat wasn't real, just a Halloween joke," Dan explained, "She had no idea what we were doing. Me and James thought it would be funny if we poisoned a cat and gave it to someone as a present… a practical joke, I guess you could say." Lily turned to Dan, shocked. _He _was lying to a teacher? Daniel Morgan, lying to a teacher? She never thought it possible.

McGonagall eyed this suspiciously. "Is this true, Miss Potter?" she asked quietly. Lily looked at Dan, who nodded his head ever so slightly, and James, who was unsure of what to do. Then she looked up at McGonagall.

"No," she said quietly. "I'm not stupid. I knew what was going on. They didn't think I realised the cat was real, but I did."

"You kids never learn," murmured Professor Lupin as he strolled into the room. "The visitors have left, horrified. Neville and I were just discussing the fate of the culprits, who are…?" He looked around the room to see Lily, wiping tears from her eyes, Dan looking ashamed of himself, and James, looking remorseful. "Who would have thought? Potter, what are you doing with these boys? What terrible influences."

"Yes, we were just speaking of Lily's lack of responsibility around Morgan and Elliot," McGonagall said. "They thought it would be _amusing,"_ she said the word with such bitterness it scared Lily, "if they pulled a practical joke on her during Halloween. Of course, as they have now discovered, Potter knew about it all along but was simply playing along with their joke."

"Are you amused now, boys?" Lupin asked them. Dan and James shook their heads ruefully. "Have you decided their punishment yet?"

"No, I have not. Any suggestions?"

"Well, Albert has to chop some wood from the Dark Forest tonight, he'd do with some assistance," Lupin said, "from the boys only, obviously."

"Yes, and deduct fifty points from your House, too," McGonagall said, "each." Dan and James slouched even more. "As for Miss Potter…" she trailed off in thought.

"I am just as capable at chopping wood as any other boy is!" Lily angrily exclaimed, suddenly coming out of her upset state. Lupin and McGonagall looked at each other uncertainly.

"If you believe so," McGonagall said with a sigh, "then you may assist Albert. You will also lose twenty points for Slytherin." Lily looked at the floor and nodded again. "Now, Lupin, please escort these children, and their 

things, back to their dormitories." Lupin nodded dutifully and with Lily, James and Dan, they walked into the hall, carrying many books along with them.

* * *

**A/N: Please enjoy. I don't like this chapter much, but hopefully you do! Please review.**

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: The Empty Portrait is beginning to seem a bit less…empty.**

**PS. IwishIwasAtHogwarts: I don't think you're rude at all. I did take far too long to update!**


	5. Silent Whispers

_A/N: I am fully aware that the phrase "silent whispers" does not make sense, there is no point in pointing that out to me, OK? As you read the chapter, you'll understand. Updates will be faster in the future._

--

Chapter Five – Silent Whispers

Lily, Dan and James discovered late one November evening that detention wasn't so bad, after all. Spending a night of cutting trees down was obviously tiresome, but it was far better than being expelled. Besides, Hagrid was friendly enough, he barely made Lily do any work, though James stated it was unfair seen as she was the one so eager to help back in McGonagall's office.

No one spoke a word of the Empty Portrait for weeks. Christmas was coming fast, only four weeks away. "Where are you going to go for the holidays?" James asked Lily as they walked into the Great Hall.

"Dunno, I s'pose I'm stayin' here. I don't want to go back to the orphanage, anyway," she replied.

"I have to go to a wedding," James moaned, "my sister's. She's marrying a complete jerk."

"Can't you just be happy for Rose? Rob's not _that _bad, you know," said Dan.

"You're only saying that because you get to go to the wedding and see your darling Angela, who you reckon is _pretty_," Lily teased, knowing that he got along with James's older sister, Angie. James scowled and Dan protested, saying that he didn't think she was pretty. James found that offensive to his sister, and Lily left the two to bicker over whether Angela was pretty or not; while she got to go and sit next to the Slytherins. She sat at the end, in a corner where no one would notice her – not that they would talk to her anyway.

Lily ate quickly and left sooner than anyone else. As she was walking, she kept her eyes directly in front of her so that she did not have to suffer looking at the Empty Portrait and causing her curiosity to bloom. She began thinking about what she was going to do at Christmas. The week before she'd asked James if she could tag along with him and Dan to the wedding, but he told her that his mother had already had a panic attack when she found out that he had one mate staying over for the holidays, and her nerves simply wouldn't last if she found out he had another friend, and a girl, too.

Lily heard something from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, but saw nothing. Shrugging it off, she began walking again, listening to the sounds of her feet as they took steps, seeming louder than usual in the silent hallways. Lily heard something again. Sure that it was someone speaking, she turned fully around to find nothing. Suspicious that it was some kids pulling jokes on her, she called out into the silence, "Ha, ha, very funny. You can stop it now. Real hilarious." When she saw no reaction, she took a step in the opposite direction that she was originally heading. She heard a noise, a whisper of some sort. It was muffled and quiet, so Lily was unable to understand what it was saying. _"Lee…lee…" _she heard something groan. Turning to her side rapidly, she practically jumped out of her skin, but instead just screamed, startled. Alas, it was merely a mirror, fooling her. She looked at her reflection and took a deep breath, seeing only black behind her.

"Yes, sometimes I scream when I look into mirrors, too," said Professor Lupin as he turned the corner, coming closer to Lily. "But, I'm afraid that is not the way to solve your issues, Miss Potter." Lily smiled a bit and nodded.

"I was just…startled," she mumbled.

"Happens to the best of us," he said, grinning. She nodded again and scurried away to her dormitory.

--

With so much on her mind, Lily forgot to even tell Dan and James about the unusual situation in the hallway, and her fearful encounter with her own reflection. But she still remembered to rush down the halls as quickly as she could so that she didn't have any distractions.

Three weeks before Christmas Lily received her grades for the first half of the year. She failed every single practical subject, but passed reasonably well in her theory. Perhaps she wouldn't be asked to leave, after all. She just hadn't gotten the hang of using a wand yet; that was all. If Dumbledore were their headmaster, he'd say that she had to be patient and, though slower than most other students, she would be fine. That's what Lily thought, anyway.

"Lily!" Dan yelled as she sat resting on a tree beside the lake.

"Yeah?" she asked, confused by his sudden interruption. He ran closer towards her and showed her a book titled, _Secrets of Hogwarts, by Rita Skeeter. _"It looks ancient," she observed, "what's so important?" James came running up behind Dan, slightly out of breath.

"You never know, something about the –" James paused, catching his breath at the same time. He whispered, "_the Empty Portrait._"

"Guys, I thought we agreed to put that behind us last month? Remember what happened last time we let our curiosity get the best of us?" Lily pointed out. The boys ignored her.

"I found this in the library, under the section of Hogwarts history," Dan explained.

"If you keep looking in there, Daniel, McGonagall will know you're up to something," she said. He smiled.

"You obviously haven't had History period today," James said, "we've been assigned a task to do over the last three weeks of school before holidays."

"Yeah, we have to choose one specific element that plays a big role in the history of Hogwarts," said Dan, "and James and I chose the Chamber of Secrets."

"The what?" Lily asked. Dan was shocked she did not know.‑­

"You haven't heard of the Chamber of Secrets?" he cried. "Let's go to the library later on today, I'll show you some books on it." Lily nodded.

"I can go now," Lily suggested, "I just have to put my stuff away. Be right back." She got up and ran down the halls to her dormitory. Shoving her stuff on her bed, she walked back, slightly more tired than before. As she walked she heard that same voice, always whispering. This time it was louder, though, and Lily was sure it was saying 'lee-lee'. She spun around and saw no one, the halls empty.

"OK, this is really getting old," she said aloud. Turning, she saw the mirror again, with just blackness in the background. "Empty," she thought. "Stop playing games, whoever you are." In the reflection, Lily noticed something move. She faced the opposite direction and saw the Empty Portrait. It was just sitting there, innocently. She looked back at the mirror, and saw something move this time. Watching it from the reflection, she saw something protruding from the blackness. It got a little bit out, but then stopped. As if she could tell the future, Lily ducked as quick as she could and out spat a wand, whizzing through the air at a rapid pace. It went straight into the mirror, causing it to crack and smash. Then, as if it hadn't just been flying through the air, the wand fell to the ground and lay on top of the shards of glass, leaving Lily to stare at the mess in front of her, sitting flat on her bottom.

Someone came around the corner and walked towards Lily. "You know, you shouldn't try tricks that are beyond you," a boy said. Lily looked up to see him, craning her neck so that she could see his face. She didn't recognise him. He was one or two years older than her, a handsome face, and dirty blonde hair. She blushed.

"I wasn't – it wasn't supposed to – fly," she stuttered. She took a deep breath and said hastily, "I wasn't doing anything wrong, I swear." He laughed and held out a hand for her. She took it gratefully and pulled herself up, before picking up the wand. When she touched it, she felt an odd feeling of familiarity. It must have been her wand that the Empty Portrait spat out.

"There you go," he said. Pulling his wand out, he made a flicking movement as he muttered, "_Repairo_." The shattered glass gathered and went back inside its borders. Lily smiled and thanked him. "Next time, be more careful," he told her. She nodded.

"I'm Lily, by the way."

"Alex." He smiled, and Lily ran off to the library.

Dan and James were waiting impatiently for her. "What happened to you?" James said, "You look like a mess. And you took ages!"

"Sorry, I had some trouble with this thing and then there was this boy and he was talking to me," she said, obviously flustered. Dan raised his eyebrows.

"Talking to boys then, Lily?" he teased.

"_No_," Lily retorted, nudging him, "he was talking to _me_. And anyway, he was just telling me not to try and do magic that was beyond my skills."

"Sounds like an uptight freak," James murmured.

"Don't be so quick to judge him," Lily said, "he was helping me out. He thought that I smashed this mirror because it was broken and I was the only one there."

"Why was the mirror broken?" Dan asked curiously.

"I need to talk to you guys about that," Lily said in a low voice, "it's got to do with the Empty Portrait. Meet me after last period in the Entrance Hall tomorrow." The two boys nodded, slightly confused. "We'll have to leave the Chamber of Secrets to later, because class is about to start and McGonagall will be suspicious if I'm late for Transfiguration."

"She'll be suspicious if you're early, too, that one," James said. "Doesn't trust any of us."

"She has reason not to!" Dan protested. "Give her a break, she's probably hundreds of years old."

"That's no excuse!"

"Yeah it is. When you're two hundred years old and rotting in your death bed, I'm sure you won't be such a pleasant person anymore."

"That is, assuming you were a pleasant person in the first place," Lily pointed out. Dan laughed. James crossed his arms and complained about their bullying before the librarian hissed at them to be quiet.

* * *

That night Lily dreamt of something quite odd. She was crying, and there was an old man and woman who were both frowning and seemed angry. "You have ruined us!" the woman shrieked.

"You're a disgrace, Lottee," he roared. Lily kept crying. The man slapped her across the face, a blow so hard it could kill somebody. Lily cried out in pain and apologised repeatedly. She couldn't control what she was saying, like someone else was saying it for her. She felt someone shaking her shoulders and kept crying, her eyes shut tight.

"You filthy little girl," spat the woman, "you've disgrace the name of Lestrange and Voldemort! We let you go for a few weeks and you come back telling us you're _pregnant?" _

"I'm sorry," Lily mouth spoke, though she did not tell it to, "it was a mistake, mother! A mistake!" Though no one was there, Lily still felt someone shaking her shoulders uncontrollably.

Finally, her eyes flung open. She looked around her frantically, but only to see the faces of McGonagall and her roommate Ava. She felt sweaty and was breathing heavily. Her cheek was burning, like it really had been hit.

"Professor…McGonagall?" she choked, trying to catch her breath. "What – what are you doing here?" She looked around her more to see some other girls in her dormitory, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Are you OK Lily?" McGonagall said uncertainly. Lily was bewildered, but nodded unsurely.

"You were screaming," Ava said, "and you…well, you sort of slapped yourself." Some other girls sniggered and Lily heard them whispering about something.

"I'm – I'm fine," Lily said quietly. McGonagall took her hand and pulled her up.

"Get into your dress robes," she ordered, "I want to talk to you privately." Lily got changed and then went to the Headmistress's office. It looked the same as it had last time, except this time Lily wasn't in trouble, just confused. She stood there, shuffling her feet, unsure of what to do. McGonagall sat at her desk and told Lily to take a seat. Lily did as she was told. "Now, Lily," McGonagall began softly, "I know we haven't gotten along much in the past…" she trailed off. Lily was glancing around the room awkwardly. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, Lily," she gently said. Lily looked hastily back and straight into McGonagall's eyes. "Thank you," she said. "As I was saying, I know we haven't gotten along much in the past, but that doesn't mean you should keep things from me, OK?"

"Yeah, miss, I know," Lily replied.

"How long have you been having those dreams?" she asked suddenly. Lily didn't really know what to say.

"What dreams, Professor?"

"When you were dreaming, you said the name Lestrange and…" she paused, "and Voldemort." Lily bit her lip. She shuffled around uncomfortably on her chair.

"This is the first, Professor," she said. McGonagall nodded, seeming relieved.

"Can you tell me what happened in your dream?" she asked.

"Well, there were these two old people, they were very angry with me. They were yelling and screaming about being a disgrace and ruining their family and stuff. Then the man hit my cheek, hard. I was crying and apologised." Lily shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Anything else?"

"Oh, yeah, they called me Lottee and said something about me being pregnant."

"Is your nickname Lottee?"

"No."

"And are you…pregnant?" Lily couldn't help but laugh.

"No, Professor!" McGonagall smiled, too, but that faded away quickly.

"If you dream about those people again, tell me," she said, "please."

"OK, miss, I will." McGonagall dismissed her and Lily decided to go to the Empty Portrait. "Hello, Empty," she said to it. "God, now I'm talking to nothing…" she muttered.

"_Heelloo." _it replied. Lily jumped back in fear, and fell to the ground. She stared, wide-eyed, at the seemingly empty picture. _"Lee – lee," _it whispered. Lily realised it wasn't saying 'lee-lee', it was saying 'Lily'. _"Lee – lee…"_

"How are you talking to me?" she asked quietly, standing up and walking closer to the Empty Portrait. "That isn't possible." She peered into crack of it, but again saw nothing but darkness. Vaguely, she noticed the crack had gotten just the tiniest bit bigger.

"_I aam Cassandraaa," _it said ignoring her question, _"you are Lee – lee." _

"It's Li – ly, not Lee – lee," she said slowly. "What are you?"

"_I am sooo lonely Lee – lee, so looonely…" _it moaned. Lily bit her lip. _"Pleease be my friend, Lee – lee, pleaase…"_

"Um – OK – I'll be your – friend. I have some other friends, too, if you want me to –"

"_No boys!" it hissed quickly. "I haate boys."_

"No boys, got it."

"_Lee – lee, I am sooo very loonely. Soooo lonely. I want you to be my ooonly friend. Noo one else, Lee – lee, just mee and you." _Lily nodded.

"I have to go now, I have Potions," she said before hurrying away. It felt weird knowing something that, she guessed, no one else did. It spoke so clearly to her, yet, around other people, the Empty Portrait was indeed empty. But she had to tell Dan and James, she couldn't keep something like that a secret.

Running as fast as she could, Lily went to the Entrance Hall, hoping to catch Dan and James hanging around there. She knew her hair would be messy, she hadn't even brushed it properly, and her robes would be untidy, but she didn't care. When she did not spot them, she turned around as fast as she could and began running again. Because her robes were slightly too big for her, she tripped over her them and crashed to the floor. Some people stared and some laughed. Lily, though slightly embarrassed, got up and brushed herself down. She looked up and saw herself face-to-face with that Alex boy again. "Do I have a knack for catching you at bad times?" he asked jokingly.

"Yeah, I guess you do," she said. She patted down her hair, though she knew it was never neat no matter how much she tried. "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a rush, but have you seen two boys from Gryffindor named Daniel and James? I'm sort of looking for them."

"First years?" Lily nodded. "Is that Dan Morgan?" Lily nodded again, surprised. Alex smiled. "I'm his brother," he explained, "and he's probably in the library, knowing him."

"Thank you," she hastily said before rushing off to the library. She found Dan there, and then the two of them found James in the Great Hall. Lily told them about the Empty Portrait speaking to her.

"She said her name was _Casandra_?" James laughed. "Maybe there's someone living in there. What if they're trapped?" Lily shrugged, unsure. Dan looked like he was thinking, hard.

Then, he said, "That's impossible. There's no way something could be in there. McGonagall would know."

"Dumbledore is the one that made it, not her," Lily argued.

"But if Dumbledore made it, then that means it must be very, very old. Why would it only be speaking now? Why would it only be speaking to Lily, too? Other people would be able to hear it."

"Other people can hear her," Lily said, "but normally when it speaks to me I am alone. There isn't anyone there but me to hear Casandra."

"I've heard of people stuck in picture, but never _behind _pictures," Dan said, "it's not possible. Simply not possible." Lily got a big angry for him saying that. He didn't believe her!

"Look, I'm telling the truth, I heard it talk," Lily said loudly.

"Yes, I know, Lily, I'm not accusing you of lying," he said gently, "I am just stating that obviously it's not the Empty Portrait talking, it must be something else."

"So now you think I'm crazy?"

"He doesn't think you're crazy, Lily," James said, "and nor do I. I believe you."

"Yeah, sure, I believe you heard someone talking to you, it's just weird that no one else could hear this Casandra person –" Lily cut Dan off.

"Fine, don't believe me, think I'm bonkers, I don't care. I heard that picture talk, that's all I know." She stormed off and left James and Dan to stare at the floor.

_

* * *

___

A/N: Though it this story may seem like a bit of a rip off from Harry Potter the original, don't be so quick to be fooled by the similar beginnings. As the story progresses, the plot line completely deviates from the original series. Oh, and if you're wondering, you will be hearing more about Professor Lupin in future chapters. I haven't yet decided whether he should be a werewolf or not, but I had better soon because this story is already a grand total of 4 chapters long!

_IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: Lily is unsure whether she's discovered something about her family tree, or if it's just a coincidence. More importantly, in the next chapter, could Lily's life be in danger?_


	6. Take me Away

_A/N: Title credit to Avril Lavigne. Enjoy (:_

--

Chapter Six – Take me Away

"See you," Dan said. "Don't open your present until Christmas." Lily hugged him and promised she wouldn't.

"Yeah, have fun," James said. Lily hugged him, causing him to turn pink. She smiled and gave him his present. "Hope you like yours." He handed her a box wrapped in red wrapping paper and a gold bow on top. "Be careful with it, it's fragile."

"Have a merry Christmas and have fun at the wedding," she said to both of them, "enjoy your presents, too." They waved to each other before Dan and James hopped went down the footpath and into the train waiting for the lucky children that got to go home during Christmas. Lily wandered carelessly around the school. She went to Casandra and said hello.

"_Meerry Christmasss…" _she whispered.

"You, too, Cassy," Lily said happily. Cassy was so sweet to her. Lily didn't care that Dan and James didn't like her. They didn't know what it was like to finally be accepted by a girl after all her years of having 'boy – friends'. Cassy didn't judge her, nor did she want any other friends. It was like their little secret, and Lily wanted it to stay that way forever.

When Lily heard someone coming down the hallway, she said goodbye to Cassy and ran up to her dormitory. What was she going to do all winter? She was completely alone, other than Cleo, Cassy, and Dan's owl Loccy that he gave to Lily to take care of over the holidays. She lay on her bed, sorting out things that were still in her suitcase. There was a photo album that only contained three photos: a picture of her as a child, a picture of her parents making snow angels together, and the picture of the three of them, holding hands. She didn't dare take it out of her suitcase in case one of the other girls got hold of it and burnt it or something. There were books from Dan about poisons and Hogwarts history, and books for school. After that, she went to sleep, as she felt extremely tired for no reason.

After two weeks of doing utterly nothing and talking to no one but a black picture, Lily was beginning to fear that she was really going crazy like Dan and James had suspecting. It was insanely boring at Hogwarts. Wandering up and down halls, saying hi to empty portraits, wandering again, eating, reading, receiving mail from Dan, sending mail to Dan and James, greeting teachers – wandering endlessly the whole way through. It was a complete nightmare. She'd never felt so isolated before.

Lily sat beside the frozen lake one Tuesday morning, so early that kids hadn't even come out to do some ice skating with their friends. She was waiting for Loccy to come and give her some mail so that she wouldn't be so bored. Finally, an hour late, Loccy came. He came bearing not only mail, but a package. She opened the package excitedly to see it was an extraordinarily old looking book. It was titled, _The Lestrange Family_ and was written all in personal handwriting. She flicked through the old, browned pages, being careful not to rip any. Then placing that carefully on her lap, she read Dan's mail.

_Lily,_

_How's life? Are you dying of boredom yet?_

_Yes, _Lily thought to herself. _Definitely._

_Just joking. Hope your having fun. If not, here's an interesting read for you. It's a book (big surprise there) about the Lestrange family tree, going through and briefly describing each family member for centuries. Hopefully your Lottee woman will be in there. I know it's not much, but this ­_

_book is genuine. This girl, Elisa Malfoy, she gave it to me. She said that her mother is a Lestrange and this book has been passed down the Lestrange family since it was made hundreds of years ago. Be careful with it, it's delicate and ancient._

_Dan_

Curiously, Lily read through some of the pages until she came to Bellatrix Lestrange. _One son named Voldemort. Father unknown. _"Life must have been hell being named Voldemort," she said quietly to herself. She looked further down and in scribbled writing which seemed more recent, it wrote: _Died five years ago. _She flicked through some pages about Voldemort's life, until she came to the part where it said he was an Animagus. Unsure of what that was, she made a mental note to ask Dan later on, or to go to the library and find out. It said something about snakes. Then it said that he married Jasmine Malfoy and they one son: Peter. No Lottees anywhere. She looked at the photo of Mr. Voldemort Lestrange. He was the man from her dreams, Lottee's father. So why was she not on the list of his children? Lily had only had two dreams of Lottee and her parents, always arguing, and Lottee had referred to the man as 'father'. Lily turned the page to see a short biography of Peter Lestrange, and then the book ended. No Lottee. Just Peter. She opened up the back. Between the back cover and the last page, she noticed some jagged pieces of parchment poking up from the border. Someone had ripped a page out. By the looks of it, several pages out of the book. And, if Lily was correct, they would have to be Lottee's biography, unless Peter had had children.

She wrote a letter back to Dan telling him everything she'd discovered. After that she put the book, the letter she'd written, and his letter in her sling bag and made her way back into Hogwarts. After giving the letter to Loccy, she rested on her bed reading vaguely, though half the time her eyes kept fluttering shut wearily.

--

It was a pleasant change for Lily to be sleeping peacefully again. No more distressing memories that belonged to other people, just plain old silent dreams. It had begun just before Christmas. One night she was dreaming about her one of her roommate's family, and since then she'd been having dreamless nights. Which, she assumed, was why she was resting so much lately. Because it was no longer a hassle to go to bed, she seemed to have taken a liking to sleeping. It was like she was now tired all the time.

Although she was happy about that, there was still the matter of loneliness. Sure, she'd been lonely before. At the orphanage she always felt isolated, too. But it was different this time. Lily had made friends, she'd experienced the joy of not only friendship but simply the joy of socialism. Now it had been taken from her, and she had not realised just how miserable she used to be when she was alone until recently.

Sighing, Lily hopped out of bed reluctantly. She glanced back at her messy, still warm bed. It looked so welcoming. _No_, she snapped to herself, _no more sleeping for you, missy. It's wake up time. _Lily was on the verge of arguing that people who slept longer lived longer (according to Dan, anyway), but instead noticed the time that her Muggle watch read. 11:15. OK, maybe her conscious was right. Quarter past eleven in the morning was a reasonable time to get out of bed. She sighed heavily.

Lily trudged aimlessly through the halls. Anyone who had stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas weren't bothering their time with her. They were out, having fun. She vaguely wondered what people in her situation did for _fun_. She thought about asking Dan for advice, but she knew exactly what he would say. And, frankly, she was just too asleep to continue research on the Lestranges. Who _cared _anyway?

"Potter," drawled a familiar voice. Lily spun on her heel and found herself in the presence of Vanessa Peters - someone Lily had been consciously avoiding all holidays. She didn't have her usual bundle of mindless bimbos surrounding her (subconsciously, Lily felt a small amount of jealousy as she came to the conclusion that they were all probably on holidays). "Couldn't hitch a ride with one of your boyfriends?" sneered Vanessa.

Lily was just too exhausted to bother with Vanessa at that point in time. She rolled her eyes. "At least I _have_ friends, Vanessa," she said monotonously. It was the best comeback she could think of in her still-asleep state. "Not just wannabe girls running about the place."

"Low blow," she hissed. "Do I sense a feeling of jealousy arising?"

"I think you should get your senses checked," Lily advised, feeling deader than before. "While you're busy with that, I've got more important things to be wasting my time with." At that, Lily walked back to her dormitory. _One more week_, she stressed to herself, _they'll be back in one week. Just one. Seven days, not too many hours. One week._

Suddenly her bed looked even more inviting than previously, and she allowed herself to collapse into it.

--

OK, so Lily couldn't explain just why she felt so droned and depressed. She'd just come to the realisation that, while losing friends for a few weeks is sad, it was not considered normal to be feeling quite as dry and uninterested as she did at that present moment. Then again, normalcy and her didn't tend to associate well. Lily came to the decision that she would make a conscious effort to be in a better mood for the rest of the night.

Grabbing some warm clothes and putting them on, Lily went down to the Entrance Hall to see if it was snowing. It was. Beautiful snowflakes were covering every roof and tree top. She smiled and put a scarf on. It was also freezing cold. Lily went down to the lake and saw kids ice skating on it. She shoved her sneakers on and tried to spot out a teacher that could make them ice skates for her. When she didn't find one, she saw Alex Morgan instead, who turned out to indeed be Dan's brother. "Hi Alex," she greeted, "how come you're not at home?"

"Oh, hey – Lily, wasn't it?" She nodded and grinned, remembering her decision to be cheerful (though talking to Alex did make it easier). He did, too, and shrugged. "I'd rather stay here and ice skate then go to Australia with my parents."

"What's wrong with Australia?" Lily asked curiously. He laughed.

"There's nothin' wrong with Australia. It's just my parents that have issues." Lily nodded and didn't ask any more. "Need help with your shoes?" he offered. She nodded and he used Transfiguration to turn them into proper ice skates.

"You had better know how to turn them back," Lily told him, "they're my favourite sneakers." He promised that he would. "Have you ice skated before, then?" she asked. He nodded.

"You?"

"Nope. This is my first time," she replied.

"Here, I'll show you." He took her by the hand and lead to a clear spot on the ice. She fell over straight away and he had a laughing fit. She punched him hard and he stopped straight away. After a half hour of making her red bottom even redder, she finally got the hang of it and was ice ‑­skating successfully. For a moment, Lily felt genuine pleasure. But, her conscious reminded her that it would just be all the same for the next one hundred and sixty-eight hours. She sighed, thinking about how that had become a habit of hers. Glancing at Alex laughing about something, she wondered why she just couldn't be bothered to be cheerful again.

Then Alex disappeared. There was no people, no ice, no feeling. She felt a compelling nothingness upon her. Just blackness, surrounding (or rather, engulfing) her. Lily felt herself plunging into the darkness, falling forever. And it felt so good.

--

A/N: Enjoyed? I hope so. Too short?

I tried to give off some clues as to why Lily was feeling quite so tired and not being bothered to show emotion. I also tried to stress it that she wasn't depressed, she was just too exhausted to be happy. Make sense? I think I might have given away to much. Ah, well, feel free to guess (:

My computer is officially replaced. The reason this chapter took so long to get up was that, due to a virus, my laptop deleted this document every single time I pressed 'save'. Hopefully, with this new laptop, I won't have those problems again.

IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: Lily finds herself in a most unusual situation, and she meets someone she never really expected to meet.


	7. When Dreams Cross Reality

_**A/N: um... enjoy ? It took a while to update this because... I dunno, I was just so unsure about it. Giving away too much too soon? Making it too obvious? Are you all losing interest? Was the flow a bit inconsistent? Unrealistic? Please review!**_

**_Shout out to all my reviewers -_ IwishIwasAtHogwarts, Platongz, cyiusblack, and the Phantom Scribbler_. Thanks to all my silent readers, too (:._**

xXx

_Chapter Seven – When Dreams Cross Reality_

"How long has it been, James?"

"Two weeks."

"Why didn't you come to us sooner?"

"We...didn't think of it at the time." Dan collapsed onto the couch while James ran a hand through his hair. "You don't think Cassy could be connected to her disappearance, do you?"

"Yes, I do think so," Harry replied calmly, "I think it has everything to do with Lily's vanishing."

"You said only she could hear it, right?" Albus asked.

"I don't know," Dan said, "no one else was around when Cassy spoke to her. She seemed to only talk when Lily was alone. Maybe she doesn't want anyone knowing who she is..."

"Or what she is," Harry added. "And this Cassy sounds too awfully familiar." He seemed to think for a minute or two, before turning to Dan. "Tell me, boy, when was the last time somebody went into the Chamber of Secrets?"

"You don't think –" James was cut off.

"No one since you, Harry. McGonagall sealed the bathroom off and made it inaccessible to students," Dan said. "I've already asked McGonagall to get someone to check there for Lily, and she said she didn't want anyone going down there but herself. As far as I know, she hasn't gone yet."

"Good work, Dan," said Albus approvingly. He sat down next to him. "I think I might know who the kidnapper is," he mumbled, pain clear in his eyes. The other three turned to him and waited. "I think," he said, looking at the floor, "it's Lily's mother."

xXx

Crashing back into real life, Lily glanced around her. A woman's cackling filled the room, bouncing off the walls menacingly. She couldn't move, it was as if her body was bound to the floor. Glancing around desperately, Lily couldn't see anyone else. She was in a large, wet space that smelt of urine. To her right was a massive stone sculpture, though ruined and most of it was chipped. It probably looked good once, but not anymore. "Where am I?" Lily demanded. "Where am I?" she repeated, a note of hysteria in her voice. Struggling to free herself, Lily didn't notice a woman coming through a doorway far away.

"Hello, Lily Potter," the woman sneered. "So nice to meet you after all this time." Lily looked at the woman: ugly teeth, brown scraggly hair, and pale skin covered in dirt. She smiled bitterly, revealing all the yellow and brown glory of her mouth. For some reason, she felt as if she recognised this strange woman.

"Who are you?" she asked, confused. "How do you know my name?" The woman cackled again.

"You don't even recognise your own mother, Lily?" She said, making her way towards Lily excitedly.

_So Albus was right_, Lily thought to herself, remember her dream that she'd just woken from.

"Then again, I don't blame you," the woman continued reasonably. "But for a girl so good at Legimancy, your ignorance surprises me." Lily looked around, glaring at the woman who had the nerve to declare that _she _was her mother. The woman smiled tightly and sat beside her, gently rubbing Lily's cheek with her coarse fingers.

"It's a pity your Occlumency isn't anywhere near as good as your Legimancy," said the woman, sighing overdramatically. "I don't know if you know this, love, but you have a particular talent for Legimancy. Unfortunately, you let your guard down. Stupid McGonagall was not clever enough to link the dots between your dreams and your history. Ah, well, she won't be here much longer, silly old hag. Even if she had tried to teach you Occlumency, no one can really master the skill without the help of Dumbledore and Snape – both sadly murdered now." She gave another sardonic sigh. "Wish I'd been there to witness it." Lily scowled, knowing how much those two men meant to the school. Her (apparent) mother stood and stretched, looking at the water.

"What's Legimancy?" Lily demanded weakly.

"You know those dreams you have about other people's memories? They're real, they really happened," she replied simply, not looking at her, "My father used to say that sleeping Legimancy is when dreams cross reality."

"What do you want with me?" asked Lily, suddenly afraid. The woman turned to face her again and an expression of utter loathing filled her face. She crouched and stared at her.

"You ruined my life!" she hissed ferociously. "You're existence alone is an insult to my family and to me. It's all _your _fault!" she cried hysterically. Lily flinched (well, she would have, had she been able to move). The woman took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. Lily tried doing the same thing. She felt so tired and exhausted; she didn't think she'd be able to do move even if she was unbound.

"Are you going to kill me?" she said fiercely with false bravado.

"Not _kill_ you, dearie," she sneered into Lily's ear, smiling bitterly, "just leave you here to rot. Rest in peace, love."

xXx

It was silent. Lily was in a dream, looking through someone else's eyes. She was staring at a shocked James, wishing she could jump out of whoever's mind she was in and hug him and Dan to death.

"_When dreams cross reality." _What was that supposed to mean anyway? Were the dreams that she had actually real or, just that, dreams?

"What are we going to do?" Lily felt herself say. Her voice was a male's, and she recognised it as Dan's. He and James were standing side by side, talking to a grim looking Harry Potter. Albus was there, too, sitting near the fireplace.

"Lily could be dead by now!" James cried, "It's been almost three weeks." Lily watched him sadly as he sat in the boys' dormitory with his head in hands.

"Calm down, James," Dan snapped, "don't lose your head. The whole school is a complete mess right now – we don't need you joining them." Lily wondered vaguely what he meant by that. Surely her disappearance wouldn't make the school a 'complete mess'. There must have been something else going on.

"Go back to the school, James, Dan. They'll be worried sick right now," Albus commanded. James nodded but Dan did the opposite.

"Everything is so frantic – I doubt they will notice two unimportant first years not showing up to the dormitory when no one else is anyway," Dan explained. They were in silence again for a while. Harry still looked morbid and unable to say anything. Finally, Dan said, "I think we should pay a visit to the library, James. A thought has just struck." James agreed vaguely. Albus showed them out and Lily saw herself walking back to Hogwarts.

"What is it Dan? What did you think of?" James questioned as they rushed into the library. Dan pulled out a book on secret places in Hogwarts.

"Think about it James, there was one place that no one has searched for Lily yet: the Chamber of Secrets," Dan whispered, "Now we're the only hope left."

As they entered, Lily noticed Vanessa Peters from Ravenclaw discussing something obviously upsetting with two other girls.

"Vanessa – Vanessa!" James called to her. She looked around, wide-eyed and came to the boys. "Have you heard anything yet?" he asked. She nodded.

"They're saying she was _murdered_."

xXx

_Ooh, excited? I am! Who was (apparently) murdered? Is it Lily? Is it someone else? If so, who is the murderer? Why don't some parts of this chapter make sense? Questions, questions, questions – answers in the next chapter (:. Your reviews make me smile !_

_day x dreamer_


	8. No Time for Goodbye

_Chapter Eight – No Time for Goodbye_

She was freezing cold and was beginning to lose all feelings. Trying to open her eyes was futile. Lily could tell she was no longer bound to the floor – so why couldn't she move? It was as if she'd turn into stone (or rather ice, considering how cold she was).

"Lily, dear!" the antagonising woman yelled from, what Lily could gather without actually looking, across the room. Lily made no action to indicate she'd heard her. "Oh, I know you're awake. Well, guess what, hun? Your little friends will be joining us soon, I'm having them escorted."

_You can't hurt them_, Lily though bitterly, knowing that the woman could read her mind like pages of a book, _McGonagall will save us. You'll see_.

Her cackling echoed and bounced against the walls. Lily thought vaguely that she was that it was no wonder Muggle's interpretation of witches were so cruel. This thought shut the woman up. "McGonagall isn't coming," she snapped in a hoarse voice, "I've already dealt with her." Lily's eyes would have gone wide if she could open them in the first place. The woman chuckled, sparing Lily of her raucous cackling.

_You _killed_ her? _Lily knew she was uncaring and evil, but she'd never even though of _murder._

"Of course I did, you silly girl!" she replied triumphantly, "Next will be your annoyingly nosey boyfriends. They'll watch as all of _you _becomes _me_." Lily didn't think that made sense, but her mother did not elaborate or explain.

"Oh and I've invited Casandra along," she added, "Let's say that's my little gift to my favourite daughter." At the back of her mind, Lily thought her voice was similar to someone else's, but she couldn't think who.

_You're no mother of mine_, Lily spat.

"There's no denying the truth, babe," she said softly, "now, sleep, girly. Pleasant dreams: they'll be your last."

xXx

The funeral was being held beside the Black Lake. Everyone had come – not just from the school, but also from other countries and respectable politicians. McGonagall, it turned out, had no family left, and the funeral was payed for with the school's money. Her coffin was placed beside Dumbledore's, with the phoenix singing high up in the sky.

Harry and Albus walked into the Entrance Hall and found James and Dan, whispering to each other quickly. "Now isn't the time to be playing games," Albus hissed. The boys quietened and looked up at the two old men.

"Are you here for the funeral?" James asked stupidly.

"No, we felt like dropping in to say hello," he snapped. James looked slightly taken aback, but Dan frowned.

"We're going to go talk to Casandra, we'll tell you if anything important happens," said Dan, grapping James by the lower arm and pulling him.

"Aren't you going to the funeral?" Harry asked.

"Lily could be dead!" James cried. Harry nodded and the boys walked towards the Empty Portrait. Harry waved grimly to them.

Tapping slightly on the Portrait, James said, "Um – hello? Casandra?" There was no reply. Dan put his ear against the crack, which he noticed had expanded so large that it almost touched the top and bottom of the picture.

"Are you there Cassy?" he asked. Hearing a low moan, he jumped back. Then he heard movement from behind the picture – like there was something there.

The thing inside then said something in a language neither of the boys knew. James took a closer look at the crack, trying to see through the darkness. "Move, James," Dan demanded, pulling out his wand. "Lumos," he said, and out of the tip of his wand came a narrow stream of light. Putting it near the crack, he tried to look inside. Once he'd done that, there was a high shriek from Cassy and James and Dan both jumped back wildly.

"What the hell was that?" cried James.

"Doesn't like light," Dan muttered. He took a step closer again and peeked through. "Look, the crack is getting wider! James, look!" James saw it, too. The crack was turning into a hole, until it was so big one of them could fit through it. A large, scaly, slimy creature poured out of the darkness. James curiously looked, but Dan quickly realised what it was.

"Shut your eyes, James!" he yelled. James did as he said, but couldn't help but open them when he felt the cold scales brush against his skin. Slime oozed off them, and James took a step away. "That's a basilisk," Dan explained quietly, his eyes still shut. "Are you OK, James?"

"Why are you shutting your eyes?" James asked. Dan opened his and looked at his best friend, wide-eyed but slightly interested.

"If you look into the eyes of a basilisk, you die," replied Dan simply.

"Its eyes are shut." James pointed to the patient basilisk, just sitting there with gooey stuff oozing off of it. "Maybe it doesn't want to hurt us because it knows we're trying to help Lily." Dan bit his lip. At that moment, the basilisk began moving down the hall.

"Should we follow it?" Dan asked uncertainly.

"Yeah." Together they nervously followed it. It lead them into a girls bathroom (which James was reluctant to go into) and then seemed to talk to one of the bathroom taps in a strange language.

"This is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets," Dan told James, "only someone who can speak Parseltongue can enter. Which is why I couldn't enter it before when I tried." James nodded, remembering when Dan had told him about his futile attempt to enter once before.

"Let's go."

**A/N: OK, so McGonagall's dead (sniff sniff), the whole school is busy with her funeral, Dan, James and Cassy are making their way to the Chamber, and Lily ... is sleeping.**

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: An innocent soul dies, an unexpected visitor ... visits, war breaks out, and the truth is revealed. (AKA, the shit doth hit the fan).  
****:D.**

**Shout out to _IwishIwasAtHogwarts & cyiusblack_.  
****Also, shout out to my silent readers:  
****_J.M. Rekark  
_****_Platongz  
_****_& The Phantom Scribbler  
_****(that is, if you're still reading this story). ;)**

**Umm... not much else to say. Questions (for you):**

**1. Is the flow a bit rocky? Too inconsistent?**

**2. Are some of the scenes a bit unbelievable? Like, do the characters go out of character a bit?**

**3. Is this story getting a little monotonous and repetitive?**

**4. Too predictable?**

**Thanks! (:**


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